For quite a few
years now, it is no secret that The Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania
has had a rocky relationship with the Pennsylvania Game Commission,
primarily over deer management. Today's climate of stagnate
license sales, that follows the loss of several hundred thousand
licenses since 1982 adds a validating quality to our position
would you not agree? We can argue details as to why, but the
fact remains Pennsylvania deer hunting is a shadow of what
it once was in many areas across the commonwealth.

In the interest of working toward
a better relationship with the agency in the post Carl Roe
era, I had taken on a project to help out two hunters whose
uncle contacted me, frustrated by how the PGC handled an unfortunate
incident. Richard Ulmer, the uncle of Dennis and Michael Delong
called me to see if USP could help his nephews get two bears
returned that were confiscated by the PGC. The story unfolds
when their group of 5 hunters (all family) went out in an
area near Milford Twp. Juanita County that they briefly researched
and believed was WMU 4D, but they were not entirely sure,
so they decided to error on the side of caution and not hunt
bear. They started the day deer hunting only, again unsure
if the area was open for bear. Later in the morning around
lunchtime, they ran into a Fish Commission WCO that subsequently
checked their licenses and extended a courteous gesture attempting
to help the hunters. He informed the hunters they were indeed
in 4D and hunting bear was legal in the area. The hunters
acting on that advise of the WCO, hunted bear in that area
in the afternoon and harvested two bears! Later in the day
when Mike and Dennis took their bears to the Huntington Check
Station, to their shock and surprise, were informed the area
in which they shot the bears was actually 4B, and not open
to bear in the late season! The WCO had made an unfortunate
honest mistake improperly advising them to hunt there.

Before I go any further, let me tell
you I researched all aspects of this story, and what I determined
after contacting all pertinent individuals was their story
was accurate to the letter.

The issue here is
not that the WCO made an honest mistake, hell we all do that,
it was the subsequent handling by the PGC of this unfortunate
incident. When confronted, the WCO immediately admitted his
mistake in wrongly advising the hunters which revealed his
integrity. Subsequently the hunters were not cited due to
this circumstance, but why not additionally return their bears
to complete a good faith gesture and help public relations?
This was not a case of intentional lawbreaking nor a case
of hunter ignorance of the law. It hit me later, not citing
or fining these hunters was not a good faith gesture at all,
that action would have met the letter of the law for entrapment
and/or would probably be thrown out by a magistrate upon appeal.
Imagine a uniformed conservation officer testifying in front
of a magistrate “yes I mistakenly advised these hunters to
hunt the area in question” I could hear the gavel slamming
all the way to Pittsburgh “case dismissed”. Why does this
agency continue to make pathetically poor upper level law
enforcement decisions where extenuating circumstances need
considered? Ultimately they gain little in contrast with the
negative public relations that ensue? ....remember the Patti
Mattrick finch confiscation story? A Game Commission wildlife
conservation officer and three Elizabethtown police officers
went to Mattrick’s home to serve a warrant and seize the small
bird which she named “stormygirl”. She had nursed the bird
back to health after it was blown from its nest in a storm,
she had it for 4 years! Yes hard to believe, Google and read
it for yourself.

In my conversations
with commissioners, I explained returning these bears would
be a win, win, win for all concerned due to the circumstances.
These hunters showed me from the start they were sportsmen
when one of Dennis's initial concerns, realizing the WCO made
an honest mistake was, “I don't want the WCO to get fired
over this” His concern for the WCO and class attitude is why
I and USP work for the Pennsylvania sportsman! Dennis has
the common sense to realize this was no more that an unfortunate
incident born from an honest mistake....too bad the PGC does
not have that kind of willingness to identify an incident
for what it actually is when all facts are verified. Not all
game law infringement situations are hunters trying to “get
over” on the agency, and some do require leniency. The story
inside the story is that Dennis's and Mike’s other brother
Kevin harvested his bear earlier in the season, it was the
first bear ever for all three brothers what a great memory!.....PGC
shame on you once again. When I took on this incident, my
intentions were to genuinely right a wrong for two hunters,
and believed it could indeed be a good cooperative effort
between USP and PGC leadership. But unfortunately as the years
go by, it seems unless legislative guidance is imposed, there
is little hope to bring cognizant common sense awareness to
some inside the PGC, that ultimately they always should serve
their funding customers in ways to breed cooperation not contempt.